North Carolina 12-Credit Compliance Bundle 2021

It is inevitable that we must face change at some point. At times, we can predict the changes ahead, but it is not always possible to see what lies just beyond the horizon. Embedding agility and resilience within your legal operations team and wider legal department can be thus crucial to responding to these unforeseen challenges with a well-orchestrated plan. Building strong relationships with external partners, including law firms, ALSPs and LPOs, can be further important to deliver a well-executed plan that effectively navigates unforeseen change on a global scale.

No one could have anticipated that 2020 would be the year that the legal profession went virtual. In 2019, we talked as it this was 10 years away. Today, legal departments, law firms and courts all across the world have embraced and implemented these technologies and new working practices. This transformative shift for the legal profession has brought new opportunities and risks for General Counsel. The imposing risks have been quick to appear, but understanding the opportunities has been much more clouded. In this new digital age, how can you managing a remote workforce, continuing to drive productivity and inclusivity, over these new digital platforms?

While in-house teams continue to grow and examples of General Counsel with increased influence are more prolific, the impact of the legal function can still be muted. Moreover, while there is still plenty of talk of "demonstrating value" - how to clearly articulate value beyond cost reduction remains a challenge.

With remote working on the rise and its impact on mental health, this will become ever more important. It is important for us to see this as a way to pave opportunities for females, minorities and those with disabilities to gain more senior roles in the future, but we must also be wary of the challenges remote working will also bring to our mental health if inclusivity is not considered.

Companies are increasingly initiating or defending concurrent lawsuits in foreign jurisdictions – each with its own opportunities and risks. Companies competing in the global economy should not ignore the global litigation landscape. Speakers will address opportunities and risks presented by various jurisdictions, and important strategic considerations in managing concurrent disputes throughout the world.

In the past few months, we have witnessed a sharp rise in litigation cases. Law firms are inundated with new cases and juggling these over a virtual platform for the first time. General Counsel and their litigation teams are also increasingly feeling the burden of these cases and must work closer than ever before with their law firms and partners to produce a successful outcome.

The pandemic has forced companies to deal with an abundance of contractual challenges across the supply chain and with vendors. With the challenges not likely to disappear for 2020, how can General Counsel successfully navigate these novel contractual issues from force majeure, public disclosure to global supply chain disruption. Collaboration with external advisors and partners will be key to securing successful outcomes, yet for many General Counsel reservations still stand with security fears ranking top of the list.

In today's world of social media, bad PR travels fast. To combat these situations, the best offense is often good defense. Legal teams, marketing and PR teams and firms must work in tandem to swiftly handle negative attacks against them. Industry leaders know that this requires a well-reasoned crisis management plan, and one that involves multiple key teams to be effective.